Page 7 of Hidden Ink

“Okay, I’m going to go tell Hailey I won’t be by later. That way I don’t make her feel like shit or something, you know?”

Sloane just raised an eyebrow. “You told her you were going to stop by after you were done with your ink. It’s after your ink, so you stopping by to go in there to tell her you won’t be stopping by seems kind of idiotic.”

Brody just shrugged. “You not doing anything about a woman you clearly have feelings for seems idiotic.”

“Oh, dear God,” Maya mumbled, and Austin let out a rough chuckle.

“Shut it, Montgomerys,” Sloane bit out. Freaking Montgomery clan, always getting in his business.

“The kid’s not wrong,” Austin said quietly. “You’ve been circling around that girl for years. If you’re not going to do something about it, maybe it’s time to back off.”

Sloane let out a low growl and narrowed his eyes at his one-time friend. Austin stared back, unrepentant. Sloane flipped him off then brought his attention back to Brody.

“Why don’t you just go and I’ll deal with Hailey?”

Brody’s brows rose. “And if I choose to go in there so she doesn’t think I’m an asshole?”

Sloane snarled, and Brody raised his hands in surrender. “Hell, Sloane. Fine, but you better go in there and make sure she doesn’t feel like I didn’t come in because of her. You get me? Because that’s a shitty thing to do.”

“I’ll make sure she understands.” Not that he understood. What the hell was he doing anyway? Now he was pushing men out of Hailey’s way and acting like a complete idiot. He’d have to go over there and talk to her about feelings and shit. Sure, they talked about everything under the sun that had nothing to do with what was important usually, but he had a feeling this would be important.

Why the hell was he changing things?

Why the hell had she said yes to Brody?

Brody tilted his head. “You know what, screw it. I’m going over there to tell her I won’t be by for sugar. I’m not going to be the asshole here. You are.”

Sloane wanted to reach out and grab the kid by the neck, but he restrained himself. The other man walked through the door connecting Montgomery Ink and Taboo, leaving Sloane feeling like an idiot of epic proportions.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Callie said softly. “I know you and Hailey have this…thing or whatever, but you seriously just stepped in it.”

“Don’t start with me, Callie.”

“Don’t get mad at the pregnant chick,” Maya snapped.

This time, it was Sloane who held up his hands in surrender. “Jesus. What the hell is wrong with everyone today?”

Maya stalked toward him, her eyebrow ring glittering under the lights. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because we’re watching you act like a douche and yet you don’t seem to see it.”

He ran his tongue over his teeth. Oh, he knew he was being a douche, but he didn’t know how to stop it. He hadn’t been able to stop many things recently, and yet he just kept making mistakes. Kept getting closer and closer to Hailey, knowing he’d be the one to hurt her eventually. He’d stayed away from her for a reason at first, then made sure to keep his feelings in check when he hadn’t been able to be away anymore.

Now he’d put himself in the center of something that was rightly none of his business. A small part of him didn’t care, and that part wanted her to be his until the end of days. But the rational part of his mind knew he needed to stay away. It would be better for everyone if he just kept to himself and kept Hailey on her side of the wall.

But he’d fucked that up.

Truly.

“You’re not going to say anything?” Maya asked. She searched his face, and this time, he didn’t see anger, he saw disappointment. Nothing cut him quicker than seeing that in the eyes of his friends. “I want you happy, Sloane. Why can’t you see that?”

“I could say the same about you,” he said without thinking.

Her eyes widened for a moment, her face paling. “You know what? The hell with it. I’m done. Hurt yourself, block off any emotion you think you could have, but if you hurt Hailey any more than you already have, I’ll kick you in the balls.”

With that, she stormed off, and he closed his eyes, cursing himself. Maya had her own issues and he shouldn’t have brought it up, even in the vaguest of senses. Friends didn’t do that, didn’t dig the knife deeper when they knew the other was hurting.

Yet Sloane kept messing things up.

“Why don’t you go for a walk or go sketch?” Austin asked quietly. “Take a breather.”